If It's Meant To Be
by Invaine
Summary: Henry and Elizabeth HATED each other during college. Now, years later, they find themselves back in the same room as SOS and a member of the DIA. A crisis brings them together, but will another tear them apart?
1. Chapter 1

_1986_

 _She hated him. Hated everything about him. Elizabeth hated the way that even though he was only two years her senior, he felt was superior, that he had more power. He didn't. She was literally eighteen, and taking a graduate class in Political Science with him, who was, as he never let her forget, older than him. Elizabeth hated the way he would tease her, joke with her, or speak to her at all. Henry, in her mind, was a stuck up scholarship kid who thought he ran the college. But out of all the many things she hated about the tall, brown eyed, muscular and very intelligent twenty year old, was how she felt when she was around him. Elizabeth hated Henry, she did, but she didn't hate how he made her feel, and Elizabeth wishes that he would drop the act he holds, because she figures maybe if he showed her who he really was, they could maybe get long. But he didn't, he remained the small minded, cocky, and extremely annoying man that loved to anger her._

 _Henry wouldn't say he hated, the young woman in his Political Science class, but he wouldn't say he liked her either, and he could definitely tell the feeling was mutual. It was just so easy to push her buttons, and if he was being honest, they just didn't get along, every conversation they had turned into a bickering argument, every joke was always taken one step too far by either one of them, always ending in an apology later that day, but never a truce. He just didn't like her, and she didn't like him._

 _Over the course of the two years they spent at the college, things between the two never improved, and during the second year they had a massive argument, one that disrupted the entire last semester they had. He'd said something about her parents, not realising they'd past, and she'd said something about him being a scholarship student, not realising how it was a huge problem at home for him, and they'd not spoken after that. Every lesson they shared was awkward and held bitter words, and occasional raised voices at each other before one of them was removed. Their fallout was the topic of the campus, none of them cared. But they hated each other, and that was that, and on the day they graduated, they made eye contact from across the room, and nodded in each others direction, knowing they'd never meet again, and they could let the hurt they both held from one another go, and with that, the two moved on with their lives._

 _Henry went into the Marines not long after and met a woman who later became his wife, named Sarah, who worked for the CIA, and so when Henry's deployment was over, it wasn't long before he was contacted by the DIA, saying they could use someone they trusted in their filed who had knowledge on Religion, Ethics, and Marine training behind him. He and Sarah had their first child, a daughter, who they named Brooke, in 1991 and during their year break, Henry got his PhD, and enjoyed time with his wife and daughter.  
In 1994, Sarah was killed in action, and Henry quit, grieving the loss of his wife of three years, and raising his three year old, wanting her to have a secure life, and to have her father around. When his daughter turned 13, Henry was once again recruited by the DIA, and he took the offer, handing in his notice at Georgetown, and began his intelligence work again, still making time for his daughter, who he would do anything for. Which he how he found himself here, four years later, stood in a room with the woman he used to hate, who was now Secretary of State, Elizabeth Adams. _

_After college, Elizabeth began work for the NSA, which is where Conrad Dalton found her, and recruited her for the CIA, which is where she met her husband, Michael, a CIA agent. They had their first daughter, Stephanie, at the end of 1990, and their son, Jason, in early 2005. Elizabeth divorced her husband in 2006, after they began disagreeing on important decisions, and after that he'd give up on her and their children, Elizabeth became secretary of state in 2008, as her ex CIA director, Conrad Dalton became president, and that's how she ended up here, in a room with a man she used to hate, DIA agent, Henry McCord._

 _2008_  
"You have got to be kidding me." Elizabeth said as henry entered the presidents office, and Russell looked at her.

"You know agent McCord?" Russell asked her, and she nodded.

"Unfortunately." Elizabeth sighed, and henry smirked.

"Good to see you too, Adams." Henry said, teasing her using the name he'd called her all those years ago.

"Whatever went on between you two, I don't care, and neither will the president, deal with your issues later." Russell told them, and Elizabeth pierced her lips, and stood straight once the president walked in.

"Bess, Russell, Agent McCord. Please, take a sit." Conrad said as he walked in, and three sat.

"Bess, I hear you and Agent McCord went to the same college?" Conrad questioned.

"We did, sir." Elizabeth nodded.

"Good. It might be nice to catch up with old friends, this mission is top secret, and will take its toll on all of us." Conrad nodded, and Elizabeth took a deep breath with a fake smile and nodded.

"Agent McCord, its been some time, the last time we saw each other was under some very dark circumstances. How are you?" Conrad asked his long time friend, who he'd met through Henry's late wife, Sarah.

"I'm good, and you?" Henry asked, and Elizabeth looked on in confusion at how friendly the pair were.

"Fine, and your daughter, Brooke is it?" Conrad asked, and Elizabeth looked at Henry, _he had a daughter?_ She thought to herself. She didn't see that one coming. Henry nodded at the presidents question, "How is she? eighteen is a strange age." Conrad laughed.

"She's doing great, applying for college." Henry smiled, and Conrad nodded.

"I'm glad. I'm sure Sarah would be so proud of her." Conrad said with a sad smile, and Elizabeth and Russell looked at each other with confusion.

"Me too, Sir." Henry replied with a smile, and the room went silent as the president remembered his dear friend and colleague, who was taken too soon, and then began the meeting on the mission. After giving all the information, Conrad stood.

"Bess, Henry, you will be working together on this. I want state, and the DIA working all hours to find these people and stop them." The president said, and Henry nodded, biting his lip to stop him from laughing at Elizabeth's annoyance and she agreed.

"Great." Conrad smiled, and sent everyone to begin their work.

They couldn't work together, it would be impossible, she thought to herself as she watched three other DIA agents walk into the state department and into a meeting room where all work would be based.

"Everything okay, Ma'am?" Blake asked her, and she nodded as she eyed Henry, watching him walk into the meet room.

"You know Agent McCord?" Blake asked.

"We went to college together." Elizabeth said in a tone that told Blake it was not a good thing.

"Bad breakup?" He asked, a smirk on his face.

"No." She laughed, "We just didn't get on." Elizabeth said, but Blake knew there was more to it, but decided against crossing the boundaries, and watched her as she walked into the meet room at Nadine's call.

They all must have been in there for hours, Elizabeth in and out as she dealt with other problems around the world as her staff worked all around, it was around nine pm when they called it a night, and Elizabeth was walking out of the office when Henry caught up to her.

"Adams." He joked, and she rolled her eyes, turning the corner towards the elevator.

"McCord." She replied, and Henry went to speak when Russell cut them off.

"Just the two people I was looking for." He said and passed them two folders.

"What is this?" Elizabeth asked.

"That, is more papers and documents you need to read through. I was going to give you them tomorrow but the president wants them sorted and filed by tomorrow so.." Russell said.

"You do realise I'm going home now?" Elizabeth said, "I have a six year old, Russell, I cant stay here all night looking through papers." Elizabeth told him, and Russell sighed.

"And POTUS knows that, but he wants this over and done with, its a threat of the country and it needs sorting, it wont take you that long." Russell told her, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Well then do it at home, I don't care. Just get it done. These guns cant be given to terrorists." Russell said, already walking away, and when he was gone, Elizabeth groaned.

"You have a six year old?" Henry asked her.

"Yeah." Elizabeth replied, looking at him with a weird look, at his weird question, and back to the two files in front of her.

"Come on then. I'd love to see how the secretary of state lives." Henry joked, and Elizabeth snarled at him before walking away, and he laughed as he followed.

Arriving at her house was awkward. Her eighteen year old, Stephanie, knew him from her school as her and Brooke were friends, and she'd asked her friends dad was here, but once she knew he was just here for state work, her daughter nodded and disappeared upstairs.

"Don't you have an eighteen year old at home?" Elizabeth asked, holding up a bottle of wine in question to if he wanted any, he nodded.

"I do. Which is why she is able to stay alone before 12am." Henry laughed, and Elizabeth poured the wine.

"Wouldn't her mother be home?" Elizabeth asked innocently, completely forgetting the conversation with Conard when he'd used the woman in past tense.

"She erm.. she passed away." Henry told her, and Elizabeth looked at him.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Elizabeth said, feeling like an idiot, remembering that Stevie had told her one of her friends mothers had passed away.

"It's fine, don't worry, it was a long time ago." Henry said with a smile.

"Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt when people bring it up." Elizabeth told him, and he looked at her.

"Is your husband-" Henry began, and she shook her head.

"Oh, no." She said, "He's alive. I think." She said, and he raised an eyebrow. "I divorced him and he disappeared." Elizabeth shrugged.

"That sucks." Henry said, and she laughed.

"Yeah. Especially for Jason. Stevie kind of hates him for leaving, but Jason's six and he doesn't get it." Elizabeth said, passing him files to look at And the night went on just like that, getting to know one another once again, and they found they like each other a lot more now than they did then. And as they finished the last bit of re search and background checks, henry looked at her.

"That whole thing in college.. how I treated you-" Henry began, and she waved her hands.

"Don't worry about it... it was years ago." Elizabeth said, and he shook his head.

"I found out about your parents a few months after we left, when I said that horrible thing about them, I had no idea, and I'm sorry that I used them to hurt you." Henry told her, and she looked up and met his eye with a smile.

"Thank you." She nodded, "And I guess I'm sorry for calling you a scholarship kid." Elizabeth said, a smirk on her face to lighten the mood, and he nodded.

"Don't worry about it." He said, and she laughed, standing up along with him and saw him out, and as he walked off she shut the door, jumping out of her skin at her daughter being stood on the stairs.

"Please tell me you're not going to date one of my best friends dad." Stevie said, and Elizabeth laughed.

"I'm not going to date your friends dad." She agreed, and Stevie nodded.

"Okay... if you change your mind you better tell me." She pointed, and Elizabeth laughed.

"I wont. But ill keep your threat in mind." Elizabeth joked with her daughter, and she heard her laugh as she headed back upstairs.

It seemed working together wasn't as bad as they thought, it was awful at first, bickering and disagreements here and there, but after their little work meeting, they'd grown to actually be friends. They began agreeing on things, and once they did, things moved a lot quicker, and they were able to track down the missiles, and were able to stop them from arriving in the wrong hands, and as Elizabeth left the office that day, Henry got into the elevator with her.

"Its been a good few weeks." Henry said, and Elizabeth hid her smile.

"It has." She said.

"Its been nice to get to know the real you, Elizabeth Adams." Henry said, and Elizabeth looked at him, and looked back.

"I guess I could say the same, Henry McCord." She told him, and as the elevator dinged, he grabbed her arm gently and she faced him.

"I'd love to get to know you a little better." He said.

"Would you?" She challenged.

"I would." He smiled, and she began to walk out of the elevator.

"You know where to find me." She said, and walked off, a smile on her face, and henry laughed.

He may have not liked Elizabeth back then, but he sure did now, and he knew the feeling was mutual.


	2. Chapter 2

**I was asked for the ages of both Elizabeth and Henry in this fic, as its set a few years earlier than the show, and if I'm honest. I really hadn't thought of that. So.. Whoops? But my guess is on the show they were 45, and 47? Her being said to be 44/45 in season 1 and him only a few years older? I don't know!:( But anyway for the sake of this fic, lets say... Elizabeth is 38 and Henry is 40 cos.. why have it make sense when you can have it not? make? sense?**

Henry was sat at his desk at the DIA, looking through the files of information their asset had gathered while undercover in Russia, Dimitri Petrov, but he couldn't concentrate. His mind kept wondering back to the woman who seemed to have tugged on his heart slightly, Elizabeth Adams, The Secretary of State, his old college rival. He hadn't seen her since the last day of the missile op, and their last conversation ran through his mind again, and again, and again.

 _"I'd love to get to know you a little better." He said._

 _"Would you?" She challenged._

 _"I would." He smiled, and she began to walk out of the elevator._

 _"You know where to find me." She said, and walked off, a smile on her face, and Henry laughed._

Over the last few weeks, he's thought about calling, about visiting, about coming up with se plan that would just happen to have them being in the same room, but he'd always chickened out. Ever since the death of his wife he'd never really thought about dating, he'd had girlfriends since then, but none of the really stuck, he was never able to allow himself to fall her them, they just never felt right, so the fact that Elizabeth, after only working with her for five weeks, managed to erupt a feeling he'd blocked out for so long, scared him slightly. That and the fact that his daughter would most probably kill him for dating the mother of her longest, and dearest friend. Oh, and she was Secretary of State. But today, as he sat in his office, staring at the phone on his desk, he plugged up the courage and dialled the number of her office, and as it rang, he took a deep breath, and a smiled formed on his face. _You never know unless you try._ He thought to himself.

Elizabeth was sat in her office, reading through a proposal from the Russian Government, when Blake walked in.

"Agent McCord is on the line for you." Blake said, and Elizabeth looked up with confusion written all over her face.

"Why?" She asked, and Blake shrugged his shoulders, before walking out of her office as she picked up the phone.

"Agent McCord, to what do I owe the pleasure." Elizabeth joked, and she heard him chuckle and it made her heart tighten and her stomach to flutter, and she closed her eyes. This could not to be happening, she could not have feelings for this man. They'd only really gotten to know each other over a month ago. And she hadn't heard from him in weeks.

"Well, Madam Secretary, I was thinking our conversation the other week." Henry said, a teasing tone, and Elizabeth placed her pen down and leaned back on her chair with a slight chuckle.

"Really? What part would that be?" She flirted back.

"I recall saying something along the lines of, id love to get to know you a little better, and you telling me just where to find you." Henry told her, and she hummed in response.

"I remember." She said, trying her best to hide her smile.

"So, now that I've found you, does the offer to get to know you better still stand?" Henry asked, and she laughed to herself at the nervousness she heard in his voice.

"Well, that depends. Where do you plan on getting to know me?" Elizabeth asked.

"Hmm," He sighed, and she bit back a smile once again, "I was thinking maybe we could grab a coffee? Low-key, I doubt any reports would find us and spill any dirty secrets I may uncover while we're there." He joked, and Elizabeth laughed slightly.

"That would be nice." She said softly, and Henry felt his whole body relax.

"Tomorrow, around four pm?" Henry suggested.

"I'll see you there, Agent McCord." She teased.

"Good bye, Madam Secreaty." He teased back, and they both ended the call. Elizabeth smiled to herself, before composing as Blake walked back into the room.

"You're needed in the sit room, Ma'am." Blake said, and she nodded, standing up.

"So, you and Agent McCord..." Blake began as he walked with her to the elevator, and she looked at him.

"Boundaries, Blake." She joked, and he went silent, before catching her smirk.

"Yes, Ma'am." He replied, and smiled back at her as she pointed at him as the doors shut.

While on the way to the coffee house, Elizabeth found herself more nervous than she thought she would be, and very stressed over what her daughter had said. She knew she didn't have to tell her daughter anything about her life, but, she was going to coffee with her friends dad, and didn't her daughter deserve a heads up on that? How would she react? Elizabeth's mind went back to Stevie's empty threat, and how much she hated the idea of her mother dating her friends father, and that stressed her out even more.  
As they arrived at the coffee shop, her detail remained outside, and she compromised that one would be indoors, and sat on the other side of the little diner, and Elizabeth smiled as she saw Henry sit down, a coffee mug in his hands. _It seems as though are timing is very similar,_ she thought to herself, and walked in, her stomach flipping as she saw Henry smile in her direction as she walked over, and she sat on the seat opposite him, and smiled as a petite woman came over, and after she walked away to collect the secretary's order, Elizabeth looked back at Henry.

"Hey." She said, a smirk on her face.

"Hey," He said, his face mirroring hers, "I see we have a few other joining us." He joked, looking at the detail outside, and the one placed discreetly at the counter, on the ball for any sudden dangers, and he laughed as she sighed.

"I know, I tried my best to make them stay in the car." She joked, and the conversation was set from there, they laughed, they joked, they asked questions, and then they got onto the topic of families.

"My daughter warned me." Elizabeth said with a laugh, and he raised an eyebrow, "She doesn't want me dating her best friends dad-" Elizabeth started, and quickly tried to backtrack, which led to rambling. "Not that this is a date, I was just saying that she didn't want to be do anything with any of her friends dads, not that I would just do anything with anyone.. I was just saying that Stevie would hate that..." Elizabeth found herself unable to stop talking, and took a breath when Henry placed his hand on hers to quiet her.

"Hey. Its fine. I know what you meant, Brooke was the same. She told me that if it goes sour and awkward and she and Stevie start to drift that she was moving to Idaho." Henry laughed, and Elizabeth laughed along.

"Idaho?" She asked, and Henry nodded, his smile fading, but still present.

"Her moms home town. Her grandparents live there." Henry told her, and Elizabeth felt her heartbreak for both him and his daughter at their loss.

"I'm sorry. Again." Elizabeth said, "I keep messing up around that topic." She said, and Henry shook his head

"Don't worry about it, it was a simple question with a simple answer." He smiled, and she nodded, and they spoke about his late wife for awhile.

"How did Brooke cope with her mothers death?" Elizabeth asked, hoping it wasn't too inappropriate, but Henry didn't mind.

"She was only three when Sarah died, so, she was confused for awhile, but she never really felt her loss, if you know what I mean. I know she definitely misses her, and wishes she had a mother to go to for certain

things, but I like to think I'm there for her when she needs it." Henry said, and Elizabeth smiled.

"I'm sure you are." She told him.

"Have you met Brooke?" He asked, "I've met Stevie a few times, such as when their, studying..." He air quoted, causing her to laugh, "They've been friends for a long time, I'm surprised we didn't bump into each other sooner." Henry said, and Elizabeth drank the last of her coffee, before looking at him.

"I avoided you." She said, and he laughed

"I did the same." He told her, and she laughed along with him, and then her phone rang.

"I have to get back, but this has been lovely." She said to him, and he nodded.

"We should do this again sometime." Henry suggested.

"We should." Elizabeth agreed.

"How's Thursday night? we could go for dinner? Again, somewhere low-key." He told her, and she nodded.

"I'd love to." She said.

"I'll call you." Henry said, and she stood up, grabbing her coat.

"I'll see you on Thursday." She smiled, and he nodded, and watched her leave, laughing as she looked at her detail with shock as they said something to her, in which she laughed at.

Henry stuck to his word and called her later the next day.

"Thursday, nine pm?" He asked.

"I look forward to it, Agent McCord." She joked once again.

"Me too, Madam Secretary." Henry said, and they placed the phone down.

And then all of a sudden in was Thursday at half eight and Elizabeth was nervous, stressed, yet quite excited. Elizabeth looked at herself in the mirror and ran her hands over her clothes. She was wearing something low-key, just as Henry had suggested, Black jeans, a loose white top, and some simple black heels she would normally wear to work. Her hair was down, coming just of her shoulders, and she kept the loose curls in from her day and grabbed her black coat from the bed and turned to find Stevie appearing in her door way.

"You look way too hot for this to be a, work thing." Stevie told her mother, and sat on the bed, "If you're going on a date you can tell me." Stevie said, and her mother looked at her. Was she even going on a date? Elizabeth didn't know.

"Its just something low-key with someone I've known for awhile. That's all." Elizabeth said to her eighteen year old. "No biggie." Elizabeth said.

"Okay. No biggie." Her daughter nodded, and then Elizabeth's phone pinged.

"Okay, I have to go. Make sure Jace is fast asleep before you go to bed and if he has another night terror ring me. Okay?" Elizabeth said, feeling bad about leaving her six year old as he struggled with the new routine of not having a father.

"We'll be fine. I got this. Go. Have fun." Stevie said, and Elizabeth nodded, before heading down the stairs and quickly out of the door and into her motorcade, and looked at the man she was sat next to.

"Once again, I apologise for the strangeness of this. They wouldn't let me go alone." Elizabeth joked to her detail, Matt.

"Its for security reasons, Ma'am." Matt said once again.

"It's fine. I guess going on a date with the Secretary of State has its hurdles." Henry joked, and Elizabeth laughed, smiling to herself. _It is a date,_ Elizabeth thought to herself. and for some reason, that thought made her happier than she'd been in years.


	3. Chapter 3

Elizabeth and Henry were sat at a table in a quiet restaurant, deep in conversation as a waiter came over with a bottle of wine, and they thanked them, before continuing on with their conversation. Her detail was scattered around the restaurant, out of direct ear shot, but close enough to do their job if need be.

"How did you become Secretary of State? I heard you were an old colleague of Conrad's?" Henry asked, before sipping his wine, Elizabeth nodded as she swallowed hers.

"Yeah." She told him, "He was my CIA director for about ten years. I quit three years ago during the divorce process and then I guess when he became president he decided to track me down, he gave me an offer for the job, I wasn't going to take it at first." Elizabeth said, and Henry looked at her.

"Why?" He wondered, and she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I just didn't think I was right for the job. I mean I had a five year old and a seventeen year old and I was happy teaching at UVA. I mean, I wasn't exactly actively looking for a job in politics, but, I spoke with Stevie and she though it would be a nice change and that I could do it and here we are." She smiled, her memory of how much her daughter believed in her flashing in her mind.

"You can do the job, you're very popular with the public." He told her, and she laughed.

"What about you, how did you end up in the DIA?" Elizabeth asked, and he laughed.

"Its a long story." He said, and she raised an eyebrow, and he nodded, "I went straight into the marines, I was there for about five years, and I retired from active duty when Brooke was born and went into getting my PhD." He said, and Elizabeth smiled slightly, so he continued, "I met Conrad through Sarah years ago, and about four years ago he contacted me and said the DIA needed a handler with knowledge of religion and ethics and it kind off went from there." Henry finished.

"I didn't know Conrad knew you and Sarah." Elizabeth said, and Henry nodded.

"I'm surprised you and Sarah never met, she was working under Conrad in the CIA when she died." Henry told her, and Elizabeth could tell the topic was bringing up bad memories for him.

"No, I don't think I ever met her." Elizabeth said softly, "I wish I had." Elizabeth said to him, and he nodded, before changing the subject.

The dinner was perfect, full of jokes, laughs, deep discussion and great food, and they were now walking down a quiet street, in the middle of four details and three large buildings. Henry then looked at Elizabeth was currently laughing at something he'd said, and he quickly looked around the find the agents eyes away from them, and quickly pushed her in the middle of two building's, away from their eyes, and she smiled.

"What are you doing?" She laughed, and he smiled.

"I'm going to kiss you... didn't want to do it in front of prying eyes." He told her, and she felt her heart race increase.

"Okay then." She said, and his lips were soon on hers. The kiss was soft. Gentle. And as his lips separated from hers, she smiled, leaning into his hand as he tucked some hair behind her ears, and then quickly turned them back in the middle of all four, now very stressed security details, and she laughed as he entwined his hands with hers.

As they reached Elizabeth's neighbour hood, the two of the, stopped walking.

"I'll call you tomorrow." He said, and she nodded, turning and walking away, before facing him once again.

"Goodnight Agent McCord." She said in a teasing, yet jokingly professional voice, and he laughed.

"Goodnight, Madam Secretary." He joked back, and she smirked before turning away once again, and when he couldn't see her anymore, he smiled at himself and got into his car. Yep. He was falling for her. And yep. He was so screwed.

Elizabeth smiled to herself as she continued to walk side by side with the detail she concerned a friend, Matt.

"Tell your boyfriend that if he pulls a stunt like that again I'll double the security, and she laughed, and caught a hint of a smirk on his face.

"Noted." She said, and he nodded, and she walked into her house.

Stevie was watching something on the TV while eating her ice cream when she heard her mom walk in, and she turned to face the door, watching as her mother threw of her shoes, and Stevie smiled at the smile that was plastered on her mothers face.

"Good night?" Stevie asked her mother as she walked into the living room and sat next to her.

"It was." Elizabeth nodded.

"Its nice to see you smile again.. you haven't since dad left, not really." Stevie said, and her mother wrapped an arm around her.

"Its nice to smile again." Elizabeth said to her daughter.

"It is serious?" Stevie asked out of curiosity.

"No not yet, but who knows." Elizabeth told her daughter honestly, and she nodded.

"Can you tell me when you feel like it might be? Please don't bombard me with it one day when he's sat at the table." Stevie joked.

"I promise." She said, before kissing her daughter on the forehead.

"Was Jace okay?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, he's been out like a light for hours." Stevie told her.

When Henry got home, his daughter Brooke was also on a couch, eating a plate of chips, and she looked in her dads direction as he shut the door, and smirked at his smile.

"Wow, the man smiles." Brooke joked, and Henry laughed, sitting next to her and stealing a chip.

"Was the date good?" She asked her father.

"Very good." He nodded, and she smiled.

"I'm glad." She said, and turned to her dad, "Do you think this one will last longer than a few months?" She questioned, a smirk on her face.

"Haha. Funny." Henry said sarcastically. "But, I've known her for years, so maybe." He told his eighteen year old daughter, who looked way too much like her mother for her to have any resemblance to him, that he could see anyway.

"You deserve to be happy, dad." Brooke said, and Henry smiled at her daughter, placing an arm on her knee. "Mom would want you to have someone." Brooke told her father, and he wrapped his arms around her and held his not so little girl close, and she rested on her shoulder.

"Oh, grandma called, wanted to know if were still going up next weekend for dinner." She informed her dad, and he nodded.

"I'll ring her back later." He said, stealing another chip from her plate.

Henry didn't expect to be called into the presidents office that day for information on the Ukraine and Russia front, but with the files he had from his asset Dimitri, he was happy to help. He also hoped that he might just bump into a certain Secretary of State, and lucky for him, just as he was walking down the large hallway, she seemed to be walking up it, and they smirked as they stopped right in front of each other.

"Well, if it isn't Elizabeth Adams, Secretary of State. What a surprise." He joked.

"I could say the same for you, Henry McCord," She joked back, "What brings you here?" She asked, and she hummed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Peace Deals." He teased, and she laughed.

"Ah." She nodded.

"I was thinking.. if you're not busy Saturday. Maybe we could go and grab some dinner." He suggested, and she smiled.

"Sounds like a plan," She agreed, "Eight pm?" She asked, and he nodded. '

"Perfect." He said, and he stepped back away from her slightly as Russell came marching down the hallway.

"Bess? Are you coming?" Russell asked, holding the door open.

"Yeah." She said, smiling at Henry discreetly, and walking in the office behind Russell.  
Both of them couldn't wait for Saturday.


	4. Chapter 4

**I am sorry about the lack of updates. Life is giving me a ton of sh*t haha. I hope to find time during winter break to really buckle down and write this! The next update wont be for awaile, and for that I am sorry. But this is a hobby, and my life is... busy. Thank you for understanding.**

 **One Month Later**

A month and eight dates later. They were an item and Elizabeth found herself lay in Henrys arms, in his bed, after he'd made her dinner, taking adavnage of the weekend his daughter was spending with her grandparents before she went to college. Elizabeth lay on his chest, loosely figesting with their entwined fingers.

"Just so you know," She said, "I would never normally sleep with someone this soon." Elizabeth told him playfully, and the chuckle he let out vibrated in his chest, the sound hitting her ears in a way that made her stomach flip.

"I have that effect on women." He quipped, and she playfully hit him on the chest and sat up as her phone rang. Stevie.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked her daughter over the phone.

"Hey, yeah everythings fine. Where are you though? Because I'm studying with the girls in an hour, I told you this morning." Stevie reminded her.

"I'm leaving now, ill be home soon." Elizabeth said, and after a quick goodbye, she put the phone down and began to get her clothes on.

"I hate lying to her." Elizabeth completed as she buttoned her top.

"Then don't." Henry answered.

"It's too soon, esspecily since her and Brooke are so close, I just want to be sure before we tell them." She explaiedn, and he nodded in undertstanding.

"I get that." He said, "When do you leave for India?" He asked as he remembered her mentioning that it was soon.

"Tuesday." She replied, standing up.

"Will I see you before then?" He asked her, and she turned to face him as she put her shoes on.

"If you're lucky." She teased. "How's Monday?" She suggested, and he nodded, leaning up on the bed to pull her back down.

"Sounds great." He said, before kissing her.

"I have to go." She said, kissing him one last time before standing.

"I'll see you Monday." She said, and left the bedroom, grabbed her coat from the couch and left the apartment, before heading home.

Monday soon came, and Elizabeth was rushing out of her office around lunch hour to make her dinner with Henry.

"Ma'am." Blake said, and she turned to find Jay and Nadine not far behind.

"Yes?" She said, stopping walking.

"The Russian president requsted a meeting for around three, do I let him know you agree?" Blake asked, and she nodded, and Blake rushed back to his desk.

"Ma'am." Jay began, "Maria is still pushing for war with ukriane, are you sure the meeting is the best plan? Jay asked.

"I agree with Jay, Ma'am. We don't want them thinking that were taking sides." Naidene said.

"I'll take the meeting, but it will stay between us." Elizabeth said.

"Oh and about India, Ma'am. The president requested that your children stay home, he wants you soley fouced on the deal." Nadiene said, and Elizabeth groaned before nodding.

"Okay. I have to go for lunch, but make sure I have Maria on the line when I get back." Elizabeth said, and her two staffers nodded, and Elizabeth got into the elevator and took a deep breath, and as they opened as she saw henry discrety meeting her, and smiled to herself.

Once at a quite lunch, Elizabeth felt herself relax in the man opposite hers compony.

"How long are you in india?" Henry asked as he took a bite of his meal.

"Until Thursday." Elizabeth told him.

I cant believe they've told you not to take your kids. Who's with them?" Henry asked, and she rolled her eyes at the reminder of that annoyace.

"Stevie said she can handle it, and I trust her. But, I left her Nadine and her grandmothers number just in case." Elizabeth said.

"Did they tell you why you cant take them?" Henry asked.

"They said they want me soley focued on the deal, which I undertstand." Elizabeth told him. "They want me to on high alert for the danger instend of my kids." She laughed at how Daisy had put it.

"How dangerous is it?" He asked her.

"Not that dangerous. Its just a quick deal and I'm out of there. The terms are already negocated." Elizabeth told him.

"Good." He smiled, and she placed her hand in his.

"Honestly, I'll be fine." She told him.

As their dinner came to an end, Elizabeth turned around a placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Ill see you in a few days." She told him, and he kissed her before saying the same thing back to her.

Henry arrived home to his daughter studying at the tbale, and his smile caught her eyes.

"Will I ever find out whos making you smile like a fourteen year old?" She quipped.

"I hope so." He replied, kissing her on the top of the head.

Elizabeth arrived home after a bunch of meetings, and smiled as she looked at her phone as a text from henry came through. _Lunch was fun, can I see you on Friday after you get back?_

"Is it seruous yet?" Stevie asked her mother as she caught her smile, and Elizabeth looked up.

"It could be." She said, and wrapped her arms around her daughter to steal some of her chicken, "I'll keep you posted." She said to her daughter, and the eighteen year old laughed.

Elizabeth walked upstairs and into her six year olds room, where she found him sat on his bed reading.

"Hey buddy." She said, walking into his room and he looked up.

"Hi momma." He said, looking at her still as she sat next to him.

"What are you reading?" She asked him.

"A book about dinosours." He replied innocently, and she smiled at her little boy, before gently picking him up and placing him on her knee, and her heart melted when he rested his head on her shoulder.

"I love you, baby.." She said, and he cuddled into her more.

"Love you too, Momma." Her son replied, and her whole body filled with warmth.

* * *

India sucked.

She missed her children.

She missed Henry.

Elizabeth lay on her back staring at the ceiling, before pulling out her phone and ringing her daughter.

"Hey mom." Stevie said.

"Hey honey, is everything okay?" Elizabeth asked.

"Everything is fine. Jason is eating his dinner, I am just plating up my own. Is everything okay with you?" Stevie asked.

"I just missed you." Elizabeth said.

"I miss you too, Mom, but you're home in two days." Stevie said.

"Yeah I guess." Elizabeth contuiend to complain, and her daughter laughed.

"I gotta go Mom. I love you." Stevie said.

"I love you too, baby." Elizabeth said, and her daughter ended the call. Elizabeth then rang the number of the other person she found herself missing.

"Hey." Henry said, and she could hear is smile, "Is everything okay?" Henry asked.

"Yeah. I just missed you." Elizabeth said, and then filled with embrassement.

"I miss you too." He said, and her heart warmed.

"Are you at work?" She asked as he could hear him shuffeling plies.

"Yeah, reading through some flies, checking evidence, the usual." He joked.

"That sounds.. classified." She said, and he laughed.

"It is." He told her.

"That sucks." Elizabeth said.

"Yeah. You'd proberly be a huge help as well." Henry said to her, a laugh at the end of his sentence.

"I cant belive state haven't been read in on it." Elizabeth said, knowing that both cases were linked.

"I know. You will be soon though." Henry told her, and then looked up, "I have to go, but ill see you on Friday." He said to her as someone walked towards his office.

"See you Friday." Elizabeth said and the line ended.

Elizabeth threw her head back onot the bed and sighed, closing her eyes, but that didn't last long, as not even five seconds later, Russell was ringing her.

* * *

It was late Wednesday night, and Brooke and Henry were sat watching the news when the headline broke.

 **9.5 Earthquake hits India**

Brooke looked to her dad.

"Isnt that where Stevies mom is?" Brooke asked.

"I think so." Henry lied, because he knew that's where she was. He felt sick.

"Why don't you ring Stevie, see if she's okay." Henry suggested, _and see if Elizabeth is okay_ , he thought to himself. Brooke nodded, grabbing her phone.

"Hey, are you okay? I just saw it on the news." Brooke asked her friend.

"I'm okay." Stevie said, her from quiet.

"Have you heard from your mom?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah. She's fine. She's helping out for awhile and then getting on a plane later." Stevie told her.

"I'm glad." Brooke smiled. Henry sighed in relief. His daughter didn't realise. "Would you like me to come over, or is your house already way too full?" Brooke laughed slightly.

"No, its fine. My moms chief of staff is here to help with the reporters and my grans on her way. I'll see you tomorrow though, like we planned." Stevie said, and Brooke nodded.

"I'm glad your moms okay." Brooke told her.

"Me too." Stevie said, and with a quick goodbye, the line ended.

"Her moms okay?" Henry asked.

"Yeah." Brooke said softly, tucking a stand of curly hair behind her ear.

"Good." Henry nodded, and his daughter nodded.

"Hey, you okay?" Henry asked her.

"Yeah its just- I don't know. I guess I'm just a little jealous that Stevie gets her mom back after a horrific accident but I didn't. Its stupid. And its selfish." Brooke said, and Henry stood in front of his daughter.

"Its none of those things. Come here." Henry said, and held his daughter tight.

Elizabeth arrived home later that day, and as she walked into the hallway, her daughter was in her arms.

"I'm okay, baby." Elizabeth said, hugging her daughter tightly as she began to cry.

"Momma!" Her six year old shouted happily, and Elizabeth smiled at her son and lifted him into her arms, placing him on her hip so she could still hold her daughter.

"Hey little man." She said to her son, and he smiled as he rested his head agasint her shoulder.

"Grans still here." Stevie told her mother, and she rolled her eyes.

"Really? Okay." Elizabeth sighed, and Stevie walked ahead as Jason babeled nonsense into their mothers ear.

Later that night, when she knew everyone in her house was fast asleep, she snuck down the stairs, out of the back door, knowing that her children were safe with the amount of security they had, and into the back of the neighbourhood, and was quickly in Henrys arms.

"I'm so glad you're okay." He said to her as he held her tightly.

"Sorry about the weird location. I just had to see you." Elizabeth said to him, and he caught her lips in his, softly and passionately, and as they parted, she smiled. If all her trips ended something like this, she'd have to go on them more often.


End file.
